Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, recalling the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 26, 2008, recounted Pakistan’s long history of misdeeds against India. From its inception to the present, Pakistan’s attitude toward India has been one of hostility, while India’s approach toward all its neighbors has been one of love. In 2008, Pakistan crossed all boundaries and unleashed a brazen massacre in Mumbai, killing 167 Indian and foreign citizens. This incident shocked not only India but the entire world, as those who carried out this brutal massacre had traveled from Karachi to Mumbai via Pakistan via the sea route.
Shri Modi stated that India did not respond to this heinous incident with a military response, despite the urgent need for it. Of course, in response to this Pakistani action, India could have taken a strong military action similar to the one Mr. Modi took against Pakistan’s terrorist activities after assuming power in 2014, and taught Pakistan a lesson repeatedly by entering its home. In November 2008, when Pakistani terrorists committed this heinous crime in Mumbai, India’s Foreign Minister, Mahmood Qureshi, was on a four-day state visit to India. This incident occurred during his presence on Indian soil. India’s Foreign Minister at that time was Bharat Ratna, the late Pranab Mukherjee. Mr. Mukherjee sent Mahmood Qureshi back to Islamabad empty-handed. Qureshi had then stated that Pakistan had no direct involvement in this incident, but rather that it was the work of some non-governmental actors (non-state actors). India had refused to accept this statement of Pakistan and had said that terrorists are flourishing in Pakistan under the shadow of its army, who keep spreading terrorism in India from time to time and keep taking the lives of innocent citizens.
The question is, did the Manmohan Singh government, then in power in 2008, want to respond to the Mumbai attacks with military action? The answer is yes, but there were some elements within the Congress Party who did not want military action against Pakistan. Newspapers at the time reported that the then Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, strongly favored military action, but he was prevented from doing so, and Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee was tasked with fighting the battle diplomatically. The late Mukherjee had created such a stir on this front that Pakistan was on the verge of being declared a terrorist state. Pakistan was left isolated from the Islamic world and the United Nations. Mr. Mukherjee then sent his junior colleague, Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr. E. Ahmed, to the United Nations to announce that terrorist organizations in Pakistan wanted to change their names and continue their terrorism activities. E. Ahmed was a member of the Kerala Muslim League, which was then in coalition with the Congress at the Centre. Mr. Mukherjee performed his duties with utmost dedication.
However, Congress leader Mr. P. Chidambaram recently stated in an interview that military action against Pakistan was postponed on the advice of the Ministry of External Affairs, which at first glance seems untrue. The decision not to take military action was not made by the Ministry of External Affairs, as the Prime Minister himself wanted to teach Pakistan a lesson. Clearly, the decision not to take action was made from somewhere high up within the Congress party. Reports had even surfaced that a military response to Pakistan would greatly enhance Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s popularity. However, Mr. Chidambaram blamed the Ministry of External Affairs. From then until today, no one knows the truth about what transpired among top Congress leaders after November 26, 2008. Yes, it did happen that the then Home Minister, Shri Shivraj Patil, resigned, and Shri P. Chidambaram was given the Home Ministry in his place, and Shri Mukherjee was made Finance Minister. Subsequently, in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress Party won a landslide victory, winning 206 MPs. The nuclear deal with the United States became an issue in these elections, with Shri Mukherjee as its true leader. However, the question remains: why Pakistan was not given a befitting military response for the November 26th incident. While serving as Foreign Minister, Shri Mukherjee had provided evidence to the entire world that the Pakistani government and its army were operating terrorist camps and training terrorists in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Shri Chidambaram’s statement that India did not take military action at the behest of the United States and other world powers would be considered a compromise on India’s sovereignty.
